Conte: "The best possible performance to prepare for Wednesday"

MILAN – Inter picked up their third consecutive win in Serie A (and fourth in all competitions) after beating Bologna 3-1 on matchday ten thanks to a goal from Lukaku and a brace from the impressive Achraf Hakimi. This is what Antonio Conte had to say after the match:

Compared to what happened against Torino, Inter seemed to perform as a real team today. Do you agree? “Yes, but their goal arrived unexpectedly and we can certainly do better: we’ve been in the same situation before where we’ve allowed our opponents to remain in the game despite being the dominant side. In July, we had a horrible experience against Bologna, when we lost 2-1 to a team down to ten men after also missing a penalty. Today, however, we were determined and attentive. There was maximum respect for Bologna, also with what happened a few months ago in mind. The lads know that they need to keep their concentration levels high, because when we do so it becomes difficult to play against us. If we don’t do this, we concede avoidable goals, like the one they scored this evening. It was a really important match for us in terms of building confidence with Wednesday’s match against Shakhtar in mind. The lads knew this, and I’m glad I was able to convey this to them. I’d like to compliment the group on the performance.”

On a tactical level, it seems like there’s been a change: are you more willing to sit back and wait for your opponents to attack in order to have the right balance in defence? “In Italy, football is very tactical, but we’re finding a balance. We don’t press high all the time because opponents do a lot of studying. We therefore alternate periods of high press with waiting and try to always remain compact. This is the most important thing: the attackers drop back when we defend and our defenders push up when we attack, meaning they stay within 30-35 metres of each other. We’re looking more compact but know that we can press high if we need to do so.”

Hakimi is devastating, at times he seems to put the brakes on because he’s worried about the tactical side of things. Is this where he needs to improve? Have you seen the response you were looking for from him? "This is a lad that is just over 20 years old and who played for just two seasons in Dortmund and the Bundesliga, a league which is much less tactical. He’s working hard and has understood the differences between playing in Germany and Italy. Here, there’s less space and there’s greater preparation for matches, with opponents studying his characteristics more. He has a lot of room for improvement, but he’s part of the right team with the right coach to become one of the best in the world in his role. He’ll need to put in a lot of work, but I’m happy because this type of performance will boost his confidence. He needs to find the right balance, but we know that we’ve got a lad with excellent qualities and great potential in our ranks. I’ve always made my choices with the good of Inter in mind, Darmian also did well on Tuesday and Perisic performed well tonight.”

Can someone like Lukaku also improve? “Romelu can still get better. I described him as a rough diamond when he arrived because he’d reached a certain level only because of the qualities he has. I felt that by putting in the work, he could become one of the best strikers in the world. He’s on the right track because he’s a humble player who works hard for the team and has everything in his locker: physical qualities and also the running ability to make a mark on an open pitch. He is like an American football player. I insisted that I wanted him at Inter and also tried to sign him before because I think he has unique characteristics. I’m happy with him, the team, with Lautaro and with Sanchez, who could become even more decisive and score a few more goals given the qualities he possesses. However, he previously barely played at all for two years while at Manchester United, now he’s playing a lot of games and can also be a decisive player when coming off the bench.”

How is your relationship with Eriksen? “My relationship with Christian, as with all of my players, is great. I will never tire of repeating that the choices I make are done for the good of Inter. I always make decisions for the team. Christian is working and is one of the players at my disposal.”

Do you expect Shakhtar to shut up shop on Wednesday? “Considering the games against Real Madrid, it might be the case that they’ll come here to defend and hit us on the break with their pace. Knowing this, we’ll need to make sure we don’t give them any space when we have the ball because we will have our own chances. It’ll be a tough game because Shakhtar could go through if they get a good result, but we also want to play our own hand. We need to react as a team and show the right level of maturity. It’s one more step for us but we’re well up for it and our morale is high. We put in the right performance today ahead of a game like the one on Wednesday. We know there’s a lot to play for. It’s only right that the boys have a break because our schedule is so packed. Tomorrow, they’ll have a day to be with their families and I will try to work out the best way to ensure we continue in Europe.”